‘We are all devastated.’ LSU basketball player fatally shot overnight

LSU men’s basketball player Wayde Sims was killed in a shooting early Friday morning near the Southern University campus, according to Baton Rouge police.

Several former players, including Aaron Epps and Brandon Sampson, confirmed Sims’ identity on social media.

WAFB-TV reported that Southern’s campus was on lockdown for a period after the shooting. LSU is set to hold a press conference at 10 a.m.

The shooting reportedly took place at 12:25 a.m. at a Subway restaurant at 668 Harding Boulevard across from Southern’s A.W. Mumford Stadium. Sims was taken to a local hospital where he died from a gunshot wound.

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The scene was mostly cleared as of 8 a.m. other than a bit of caution tape left on a tree nearby. The Subway where the shooting occurred had an open sign displayed outside Friday morning. The restaurant was closed at the time of shooting.

Milton Talbert, who said he worked with Sims’ father, Wayne, went out to the scene this morning.

“It’s so sad that all our young people are just destroying each other,” Talbert said, adding that he planned to reach out to Wayne Sims to offer his condolences.

A former standout at University High, Sims was entering his junior season at LSU. A 6-foot-6 forward, he averaged 5.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game this past season with 10 starts in 32 games.

LSU officials were made aware of the shooting Friday morning. Grief counselors have been made available to Sims’ teammates and friends.

“We are all devastated. We need your prayers for Wayde, for his family, for all of us,” said LSU coach Will Wade in a statement. “We are heartbroken.”

In an interview earlier this week, the LSU coach specifically singled out Sims for his work in the offseason.

“Maybe the guy I’ve been most impressed with is Wayde Sims,” Wade said on 104.5 FM ESPN’s “Off the Bench”. “Moving him around, we’re trying to solve the issue of having a bigger 3-man, and really the past month or couple weeks we’ve messed around with him at the 3. He’s done a really nice job.”